


Uzbekistan

by SophieD



Series: Backstory on Sophie and Tara [9]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Adventue travel, Con Artists, F/F, Russia, Tashkent, gay lesbian issues, grifter - Freeform, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 17:21:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2278251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieD/pseuds/SophieD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tara decides to surprise Sophie with a vacation in Uzbekistan.  Can Sophie deal with the issues involved in the relationship in an unfriendly country?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uzbekistan

**Author's Note:**

> This episode takes place somewhere in Season 3 of Leverage. It is inspired by a conversation in season 2's "The Runway Job" where Sophie and Tara talk about how much they love the city of Tashkent.
> 
> This is a companion piece to "Taskkent"

Uzbekistan  
"Damn it Sophie! Turn on your phone!" It drives me crazy when she does this. After she gets into character, she doesn't like to be disturbed by anyone or anything. It's infuriating. She knows I always keep mine on for her. Not that she ever uses it. I'm the one calling her most of the time. Sophie prefers notes and letters to email and phone calls. "It's more romantic" she says. Good for her but it's not romance I am looking for right now. It's been almost two months since we last saw each other. I'm between jobs and want to get together somewhere fun for a weekend getaway. I'm thinking Napa would be nice. 

In exasperation I call Hardison. If anyone knows where Sophie might be, it's going to be him. He answers his phone with a question "Tara? What do you want?" "Hardison I'm hurt" I reply, "what makes you think I didn't call just to talk to you?" He starts to list some reasons. "Ok ok. You win. I'm looking for Sophie". "Sophie's not here" he tells me. "Well I got that or she would have answered her phone. Do you know where she is?" His voice gets wary again "uh not here...?" "Hardison!" I say. He catches the warning in my voice. "Ok she took a few days off." I wait. He'll spill eventually. "But I have absolutely no idea where in the world she might be. Nope. No idea. No idea at all". Gotcha! I say his name again, this time there's no mistaking the threat in my tone. He breaks. "She's in London but she's leaving there". "Where?" He pauses. He knows Sophie is going to kill him for this. "Who are you more afraid of Hardison? Me or Sophie?" "Now that's a good question there. A real good question. You know I'm not exactly sure. On one hand..." he starts trying to deflect me. I clear my throat loudly. "Uzbekistan. I already emailed the details to you" he finally mumbles. "Oooo I love Tashkent!" I exclaim. Silence. Finally he asks "Tara? Do you want to go to Uzbekistan?" "You know Hardison I think I do. You are so sweet to arrange all of that for me." "Yeah that's me. Mr. awesome. Am I to assume you want the same arrangements?" Hardison is a smart boy. He's watched his share of internet porn. He knows exactly what I want. He's also way too afraid of both of us to ever bring it up. More silence. "Tara? What else do you want?" "Um I don't know. I hear there are some pretty good tour guides to take you to some of the other interesting places in the area". He sighs. "Gimme the dates". "I love you Hardison" I tell him. I can hear him mumbling to himself as I hang up the phone. 

I'm feeling pretty satisfied with myself as I go through the emails he sent me. Sophie is definitely working on something. She's only staying three days in Tashkent before flying back to London. That's hardly any time at all to explore that wonderful city. I see Hardison has booked on an adventure tour for the two of us to visit a few of the ancient cities and he changed Sophie's intiniary to match mine. He even thought to put us in the last row of first class. Planning the inflight entertainment too. What a guy! I laugh as I start packing. I need to hurry to catch my flight to Moscow. I will arrive several hours before Sophie and that will give me some time find some dark corners where we might get a bit of privacy. 

While killing time in the customs area of Domodedovo airport in Moscow, I chat up a young customs official. I invite him to have a drink with me and, while on his break, we each have ourselves a couple of shots of top shelf vodka. I'm sure the good stuff is way out of his current budget and he is appreciative, offering to help me out if I am ever in need. I give him my biggest smile and walk him back to his post.

I finally track Sophie down waiting in one of the long customs lines. I decide to tease her a bit by standing too close, bumping in to her, wanting to find out how far I can push her before she loses her temper completely. The moment comes  
much quicker than I expected and she catches me a bit off guard. I can read perfectly the look in her eye and I laugh as she tries to pull back her line up of angry words. I do wish she had gotten a few out, I was curious if she would stick to Russian obscenities or fall back to her British stand-bys. I decide not to push my luck any further. I smile at her and lean in for a kiss. She grabs me by the shoulders and gives me the standard European greeting, a kiss on each cheek. I put on my pouty face but she doesn’t offer me anymore.  
I pull her out of line and take her to my new Russian friend who stamps all of her papers and we are out.  
The airport has been under construction for years and it takes me a bit to find my way back to our gate. I have already scouted a bar we can hang out in for a few hours. I order more vodka and we sit as close together as Sophie feels comfortable. I understand her concerns but I am having a hard time with the new rules. I have my hand on her knee and it's starting to drive me crazy. I take her shot as well and order two more. The gay police don't storm the bar and Sophie starts to relax a bit. She drinks her drink and we try to talk casually, really just enjoying being together more than anything else.  
When we finally board our plane to Uzbekistan, Sophie is not at all surprised to see us in adjoining seats. I am sure she knows exactly how all this happened and I say a silent little prayer for Hardison's continued safety.  
I pull the arm rest between the seats away and slide in close to Sophie's warm body. She gives me one of her looks. I should be afraid but I'm not. I just smirk at her. Nothing wrong with wandering fingers in my book, especially when they are hidden under the cover of a skirt or blanket. Nothing wrong at all. 

As we start our approach into Tashkent, Sophie disappears into the bathroom only to reemerge as a very respectable looking Arab woman. I slide over a seat and pretend that I don't know her. I am constantly in awe at how she can change so much about herself in such a short time and that she does it so subtly that no one notices that the nice  
British woman who was friendly with the blonde American has disappeared and been replaced by someone of a completely different ethnicity. She has tried to teach me some of her tricks but there is only so much one can do with blue eyes and blonde hair.  
When the plane lands, she politely introduces herself as Amira, using a northern African Arab accent, then gets up and leaves alone. I lose track of her in the airport and find the guides of my tour group gathering people to take them to their hotel. The tour doesn't actually start for two days and I tell them that I have arranged for my own lodging. I pat my bag where I have all of Sophie's hotel information. The group has planned a dinner together and I agree to go with them. I want to get to know the other travelers and guides as well as give Sophie some time to do what she needs to do. 

The guides give the three of us who have arrived early a quick, unofficial tour of the city then take us to an Uzbekian restaurant where we dine on noodles in broth and dumplings made from mutton and exotic spices. A little bit of local wine helps it all go down just a bit easier. We are told that they are expecting another couple as well as my friend to arrive the next day. We will all meet again for a longer tour of Tashkent and learn some of the local history before dining and going back to our hotel. We will leave early the next morning for Bakhura. 

I take my leave of the group and they go back to their own hotel. I flag down a cab and take a chance that the driver speaks Russian. I know very few words in Uzbek and none are appropriate for this situation. I show him the name of Sophie's hotel and he assures me, in Russian, that he knows exactly where it is. Fifteen terrifying minutes later, I find myself deposited in front of the correct building. In all of my traveling, I have never been able to let go of my fear of cabbies and narrow streets.  
I try to regain my composure and slow my heart rate but the terror has turned to excitement. I walk as casually as possible through the lobby and begin to search for Sophie's room. Why does she always stay on the top floor? These elevators take forever! 

I try to calm myself again and knock on the door. It opens about halfway and, before I can say a word, a hand grabs my arm and yanks me inside then slams the door and pushes me up against it. Her face is very close to mine. "You shouldn't be here Tara". I am startled and all I manage to squeak out is one word "but?" She smiles and says "but I'm glad you are" and then she kisses me. I start to melt, finally getting what I've been longing for all day. I turn her around so her back is now to the door. I intend to take her right there as she begins to slide her hands up my top with a little whimper. "Sophie" I whisper" "Amira" she says. OK. I can play along. "Amira, I've come literally halfway around the world to be with you tonight". Her eyes sparkle as she puts her hands to my face. "Your efforts have not gone unnoticed my dear" she whispers in her Egyptian accent and starts pushing me toward the bed. I am enjoying this now. I have her hand but I stop. "What?" She asks. "I thought Amira was a good girl?” I say. She smiles at me and replies, “Oh no. Amira has a very wicked side." 

She takes a second to move whatever she was working on and pulls me down on to the bed. She starts pulling at my clothes and at hers. I help her out (pun intended) but then she stops, her look appreciative.  
Sophie Devereaux is close to the perfect grifter. She never makes a mistake and she never drops character. She is completely unreadable, unless she wants you to read the lie she is telling. There are times however, and this is one of them, when she completely drops out of the game and you can see the real person deep inside. I look into her eyes and I can read every last bit of her as if she was yelling it out loud. It's these moments that I love her completely. 

She starts to kiss me gently but I am overwhelmed with feelings of need and I can’t wait. I begin to slide my tongue down her body, around her breasts and over the soft skin of her belly. I can tell by the sound of her breathing that she wants this as bad as I do. She wraps her fingers in my hair and holds me to my position. I begin to touch her, my tongue and my fingers working together. I want to move slowly. I want this to last forever. Her fingers start to pull tighter in my hair, her breathing changes and I can hear little whimpers begin to escape her. I know she is close. I feel her beginning to tense, her muscles readying themselves. One more touch and she pulls harder. This time I let her pull me away, leaving her shaking. I move up to kiss her but she moves away, wanting to trade places. I let her and she begins to move quickly, almost frantically, wanting me to catch up to her I let her do as she wishes as ripples of feeling move through me, faster and faster until I can hardly think anymore. At the last second, I grit my teeth and push her hard away from me. She knows exactly what I want and we meet in the middle for a soul shattering kiss, letting all of the feelings bubble up between us. When we can no longer wait we both reach for each other and we explode together. 

We lay together for a long while, just letting the pleasure move slowly through us. Almost 2 months without my Soph. Too damn long. "I just needed to see you" I tell her. She corrects me. More like 6 weeks. I shrug. Too damn long.  
She finally drags my secret out of me. I tell her about the adventure tour and, before she can protest I mention that her flight reservations have been changed as well. I can see her giving in. She knows I will eventually get my way with her. She smiles and I know she's thinking the exact same thing. Well Since she's expecting it anyway, I might as well take advantage - again. 

I fall asleep with Sophie wrapped safely in my arms. When I wake, she is already gone. So are t he papers she was working on. The rest of her things are still here and I am satisfied she hasn't tried to escape. I doze off and on, enjoying not having to do or think for a while. I order a late breakfast from the restaurant downstairs. I ask for a Russian newspaper and try to read it. After a while I give up and shake my head. I try but I just don't have the talent for languages that Sophie does.  
I spy her iPod on the floor where it fell off the bed last night. I am curious to know what is on Sophie's play list. Probably all classical. She certainly doesn't appreciate my music. I slip the head phones on and lay down on the bed. Instead of Bach or Beethoven, I hear voices. Words in a foreign language then a second voice in English. Wait! Is that Uzbeck?? She's studying? For some reason it never crossed my mind that she couldn't just listen and join into any conversation no matter the language. I smile. It's not a real secret but I might get a bit of fun from teasing her about it. I find a different track on the iPod, one that plays Russian. It's much more advanced than the basic conversation that I need to practice but I figure it can't hurt. I lay back and listen for a while. I either fall asleep or into some sort of meditative trance and it's hours later when Sophie comes back. She's looking pretty satisfied with herself and I guess she'll be in the mood to party this afternoon. I get in my teasing about the language programs and she tells me that she can learn the languages while she is sleeping. She smiles sweetly at me as she tells me "I thought everyone could do that". I laugh at her perfect Parker imitation. While she showers, I search my brain for any new talent with the Russian language learned while I was unconscious. I don't find any but I figure it can't hurt to give it a try when I get home. 

When she gets out of the shower, Amira is completely gone and my Sophie is fully back. We walk through the town center and the open air market. Sophie dares me to try all sorts of crazy looking foods and I declare myself the winner when she turns green just looking at a very large BBQ spider on a stick. It's horrible but I'll never tell her that. She whispers what she'll do me later for winning and my stomach tumbles with anticipation. Or perhaps that was the spider. Hard to tell. 

Sophie is anxious about something and wants to eat early and get back to the hotel. I try my best to get more food down to accompany the spider. I finally give up and we walk quickly back to the hotel. Inside the room, Sophie is jumpy, not  
wanting to do anything not even talk. I correctly guess that it has to do with her work this morning. The phone finally rings and she dives to answer it. She grabs her Amira scarf and practically runs out the door. She comes back a few minutes later all full of smiles and with an envelope in her hand. She tells me about her con and I am amazed she can pull off a game with such a big payout in just a day. I hint about celebrating hoping to get my prize but Sophie wants to go dancing. It's a switch but a nice one. I will collect my prize later. 

We dance late into the night in a little disco near the hotel. Languages swirl all around me with the music and, for once, I understand them all. I try to tell Sophie that we need to be up in the morning but she doesn't care. She just wants to dance and have fun. We finally escape into the cool night and walk hand in hand back to the hotel. We are alone in the elevator and Sophie seductively asks if I'm ready for my prize. She moves very close to me but the elevator lands at the top floor before she has time to let me in on her plan. Damn elevator! Too slow. Too fast. I just can't get it right. 

Inside the room, Sophie slowly undresses me, letting her fingers linger where ever they fall. She kisses me slowly and carefully as she drops her own clothing to the floor. She lays me on the bed and pushes my hands away when I reach for her. She kisses me again gently then murmurs "you won the game. This is all about you". I was expecting something wild and a little bit crazy but this is much more Sophie's style. I lie still while she traces every curve with her fingers and with her tongue. My nerve endings are on fire and I don't think she has missed any patch of exposed skin. She comes up to kiss me gently again before moving back down my body. I am finding it harder and harder to lie still as she moves closer and closer. I cry out as she puts her fingers inside of me and again when her tongue finally reaches it's destination. She continues to move, ever so slowly. She doesn't tease me like I do to her. She moves carefully and deliberately. She makes every touch and every movement last forever and when I finally come, it's the same way, slowly and gently and with more intensity than I ever thought possible. I want to return the favor but I find it difficult to move. It's as if I have been disconnected from my body. Sophie kisses me gently and nestles her head into my shoulder. All I can manage is "I owe you" as we both drift off to sleep. 

As predicted, Sophie doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning. I push her, still protesting, into the shower and go to find her a cup of strong black tea. When I get back she snatches the tea away from me. She's still foul but at least she's dressed and packed. I endure another terrifying cab ride, it's better with Sophie holding my hand and laughing at me. We arrive mostly in one place and meet our group. I introduce Sophie and we meet the new couple, a pair of women traveling as friends. Our guides have a nice town car to show us around in. All six of us are European or American and our guides seem to care less who is with who and what everyone's sleeping arrangements are. It's us, the two friends, who are about our age, and a retired couple out spending their children's inheritance. We all instantly become friends and Sophie relaxes enough to hold my hand and give quick kisses. 

The tour of Tashkent is wonderful. Both the driver and the guide are very knowledgeable and they take time to answer everyone's questions. They show us around the old stone parts of the city and through the drab Soviet built areas. We walk through Chorsu Bazaar and our guides translate many of the strange things we ate the day before and find us better tidbits to eat. No spiders for me today but everyone gets a good laugh about my experience. When I get to the part about my prize, I give Sophie a quick wink but I don't offer any more.  
We all go out together for another traditional dinner of noodles and mutton. We drink lots of local wine and listen to a traditional folk music group perform. The exotic sounding music is mixed with spoken word poetry. Sophie nods along, understanding every word while the rest of us are mesmerized by the strange and beautiful sounds. Our guides deposit us, all together, at their chosen hotel and we all stagger to our rooms stuffed full of food, wine and music. Sophie and I fall into bed together. Tonight there is no urgency and no prizes to be won. We lie close, just enjoying being together and touching each other gently until we both fall asleep. 

It's another early morning. I find some of that black tea before I wake Sophie. She is in a much better mood this time. We eat sweet bread and drink more tea while our guide explains the day's itinerary. We will fly to Bakhura, where we will do a walking tour of the old town part of the city. In this part of Bakhura are some gorgeous mosques as well as several madras as or Islamic law teaching centers. We will also visit a large market and some fascinating mausoleums.  
Sophie and I enjoy the tour and then spend the afternoon wandering around the city before we meet our group for dinner. We arrive back at our hotel still overwhelmed by the beautiful places we visited. Sophie comes to me and kisses me. "Thank you for this" she says. "I would have never thought to do a trip like this. It really is amazing". In bed, I kiss her again and wrap her up in my arms and legs. We quickly fall asleep together. 

I wake in the morning and I am surprised to see Sophie sitting on the edge of the bed staring at me, holding a big cup of tea. I stretch and ask her "like what you see?" She takes a big gulp of her tea and checks her watch. "MMM hmmm" she says "I suppose the question is, what do you want to do for breakfast? The group is meeting down stairs in about a half hour". I stretch again and Sophie's eyes glow. She drinks another big gulp of tea but she never takes her eyes off of me. "Hmmm. I suppose I'm not really hungry" she says then finishes her tea and puts the cup on the floor. "Well I am"  
I tell her as I sit up and reach for her arm. "Maybe we can get you some food to go" she replies as she lets me pull her down next to me. She kisses me as I slide one hand up her shirt and the other starts down the front of her pants. She moans a bit and her hand starts to move down my rib cage on the way to its final destination. 

We finally stumble down the stairs to meet our group. Sophie is still trying to compose herself by smoothing down her hair. The more our new friends look, the more flustered she gets until I grab her hand and say "I told you they wouldn't leave without us. Tomorrow we will remember to set an alarm." I have no idea if the group bought it but Sophie did and pulled herself together. I marvel at the fact that The Great Sophie Devereaux actually lost her cool. I guess I just figured out her Kryptonite. I smile at that. It seems a bit cruel to use against her now but I file the info away for possible use at a later date. 

We leave for Samarkand by way of Shakhrisabz in another town car. Sophie is quiet but she takes my hand. She eventually moves closer and gives me a quick kiss. I smile. I hope that she is working out what has been bothering her. It was never my intent to make her have to explain our relationship to anyone. I've never been much worried about gender labels. I love Sophie for who she is not because she is a woman. I will agree that being with a woman versus a man has it's advantages. We seem to instinctively know what the other will like because it's what we like ourselves. And with Sophie, well, we've always been on the same page physically. Coming together emotionally has been a bit more difficult, not because we  
don't love each other but because Sophie has always struggled with who she is. When you think about it, she's not  
even really Sophie Devereaux. That's just another character she has created. I believe Sophie is the closest to who the person inside really is but I don't think she'll ever completely let go of her disguises. Whatever she is working on right now, she's going to have to redefine herself again in some way. She's sitting here next to me still and she's holding my hand and I feel confident that whatever she decides, I will be a part of it. I catch her watching me and I give her a smile. This, right here, is all I ever really wanted.  
The history of Shakhrisabaz is different than the other ancient places we've visited in Uzbekistan. Alexander the Great was here and brought with him Greek gods and architecture. Shakhrisabaz was also the site of an anti-Arab/anti-Islamic movement in the 8th century. The area was united by Amir Tamur who built a large white stone palace. More mosques and mausoleums, which Sophie loves, are found here. We also spend some time shopping for handcrafts that the city is famous for. Sophie sends quite a bit of a local wine home and I see her sneak one bottle into her bag. Whatever she is planning for tonight, I am in!

We leave for Samarkand in the late afternoon and arrive in time for dinner. Afterwards, the group wants to go out and explore the city before tomorrow's tour. I watch Sophie carefully, waiting to see what she wants. She suddenly looks very tired and tells everyone that she's going to go to bed early. She looks at me. I get it. I wave and tell them all to "have fun".  
Up in the hotel room, Sophie opens her bottle of wine. She pulls a tea cup out of her bag and fills it. She sits on the bed and leans up against the wall then motions that she wants me to sit with her. I know what's coming but I'm not sure exactly what she's going to tell me. She seems to have made some sort of peace with the situation. I sit close to her on the bed, hoping to get some sort of reaction. She takes my hand and offers me the wine cup but nothing else. I take a big drink and hand it back. I close my eyes and let my head back against the wall. I am just enjoying the warmth of the wine spreading through me and the low hum I feel whenever Sophie is next to me. 

It takes a half bottle of wine before she decides to talk. She turns to face me and holds my other hand. She starts by saying she wants to apologize for this morning. I try to tell her it's ok. I understand. I want to tell her that it's my fault too, arranging this trip, traveling so closely with other people, making her feel like she needs to explain herself. She doesn't want to listen yet. She's looking at her feet. She can't see me yet. I want to hold her, to tell her I already know and that it's ok to feel what she does. I let her talk. She needs to say her peace. She's never thought of either of us as being gay. She's not sure how this new idea fits into the persona that she's created for herself. Once again, she's become unsure about who Sophie Devereaux is. What she is. I try to tell her that it's ok. That we don't have to be anything. I don't know what we are either but it doesn't matter. I only care about her, that she's happy and comfortable. That she knows I love her no matter what names she calls herself. That I will protect her from anyone who threatens to take any of that away from her. She finally looks at me. She lets me in. I can see in her eyes that she will be ok with this, whatever she decides to name it.  
I ask her "ok?" She kisses me and, although we both know the answer, she tells me "Ok". 

"I promise that I will never let anyone hurt you Soph ". She smiles. She knows that I mean I love her. "I love you too" She whispers back. "I'll tell the world if you want me too." I reach for her. I want to show her that I mean everything I just said. I want her to feel safe, to always know what it is like to be protected and comforted in my arms. I want her to be as happy as she makes me. As her clothes start to come off, I whisper back "you only have to tell me". She sighs and closes her eyes as I slip her top off her shoulders. I let my fingers move across her chest. I take off my top and put her hand over my heart. "Do you feel my heart?" She nods. I put my hand on hers. "This is all I ever want Soph".  
I slip off the rest of my clothes and pull her down on top of me. I need to feel her warm soft skin against mine. I pull her tight and I just want to hold her forever. She starts to move away but I roll over on to her and hold her in place. She opens her eyes and I look deep into hers  
"I want you to feel what I do every time I think of you". She sighs and closes her eyes again.  
I bring myself down to my knees and begin to play with her breasts, first with my fingers and then with my tongue. She groans as I pinch her. She can't keep still now, her breathing is getting faster and I can hear her begin to cry. I don't want to be done with her yet. I move again and start to slide her pants down over her hips. As she moves to let me take them off, I bring my tongue slowly down her stomach. She groans again as I begin to touch her, first with my fingers, then with my tongue. She wraps me up with her legs and pulls me tight into her. I move slowly. Normally I would tease her by stopping and starting and trying to make her crazy. Tonight I don't need to. I move slowly and steadily, reaching deeper with my fingers and my tongue. I want her to wait as long as she can. I want to touch her forever and listen to her sighs and whimpers. I want her to feel every bit of what I feel. I know she's ready now. I know she can't wait any longer. With one final thrust of my hand and flick of my tongue, she moans loudly then gasps and arches her back. I lay my palm on her and my head across her belly and feel what I have done to her as she moves inside with the same rhythm. When I can no longer feel her move, I begin to stroke her again. I feel her take another quick breath of surprise. I slide back up to be next to her and move to let her fingers find me. We find a slow rhythm that works for both of us and we lie together for a long time before we both move gently into each other Sophie leaves her hand between my legs as she nestles her head into my shoulder and I feel her breathing slow until she is asleep. I lay awake for a long time, just feeling her body next to mine and thinking about us. 

Morning comes too soon and we are up and out the door for our last adventure before flying home. Sophie is different today. She is much freer, more like herself, full of confidence, back in control. She's interacting more with the others, laughing, touching and flirting. I can see she's more comfortable letting others know this side of her. It makes me happy to see the Sophie I've always known finally come out. 

Samarkand is another ancient city with its own history. Alexander the Great was here too as well as the Mongols. Amur chased out the Mongols and united the region. He built another great temple with over 450 marble columns. His mausoleum is one of the most famous structures in Samarkand, built in a traditional Islamic style full of images of gardens. Timur also colored many of the buildings blue as the color held great symbolism. Blue in the hallways of the mausoleum, represented mourning, on the doors of houses and buildings, it warded off spirits. Painting buildings blue was also a sign of the city’s wealth, showing they could afford to have water. Gold is a common color in Samarkand as well and the city is known for weaving gold thread into their cloths. Sophie does her share to help the local economy and more treasures are sent to her home in Boston.  
Late in the afternoon, we arrive at the airport to await a flight back to Tashkent, then on to our homes around the world. During the flight, Sophie and I hold hands but are much too tired for conversation or anything else. When we land, Sophie finds a bottle of wine in a gift shop and we share it before catching our first flight to home. 

Once seated on the plane back to Russia, Sophie raises the arm rest and scoots close to me. She pulls out one of the scarves she bought in Shakhrisabaz. She unfolds it and lays it across both of us like a blanket and looks at me. I flex my fingers. She smiles and puts her head on my shoulder. Our hands meet under the scarf for a second before wandering off.  
By the time we land in Moscow, Sophie's cheeks are bright pink. I can't help but give her a big kiss. She kisses me back without fear or hesitation. 

I have to hurry to catch my flight and give Sophie a hug and a quick kiss. I ask her "so should I call you in 2 months then?" I see the light twinkle in her dark eyes. "Better make it 6 weeks!”

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments and constructive critisism


End file.
